Rotary card index drive mechanism



Aug. 11, 1953 Q BEHRENS 2,648,586

ROTARY CARD INDEX DRIVE MECHANISM Filed 001;. 20, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet lFigi I Hegber C. Behrens y TTORAEYS Aug- 11, 1953 H. c. BEHRENS2,648,586

ROTARY CARD INDEX DRIVE MECHANISM Filed Oct. 20, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENToR.

Heyrberi elzrezzs 65M rf/422i@ ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 11, 1953 ROTARYCARD INDEX DRIVE MECHANISM VHerbert C. Behrens, Canton, Ohio, assignorto Diebold, Incorporated, Canton, Ohio, a corporation of OhioApplication October 20, 1948, Serial No. 55,583 v 6 Claims.

The invention relates generally to rotary card indexes of the type shownin the patent to G. C. Bruen, No. 2,168,323, dated August 8, 1939, inwhich record cards are arranged substantially radially of a mountingdrum which is rotatable on a horizont-al axis, and more particularly toan improved drive mechanism for rotating the drum.

In the operation of a rotary card index, groups or blocks of cards areoften removed from the drum for convenience in working on individualcards or for dividing the work among several operators. When this isdone the drum becomes unbalanced, and some means must be provided tokeep the drum from turning due to the unbalanced load. A brake drum andband has been provided for this purpose, but in order to hold the drumin unbalancedposition, the band has to be so tight that it is verydifficult to turn the drum manually by gripping the ring of the usualhand wheel attached thereto.

It has been attempted toprovide a worm drive between the hand wheel anddrum, because a worm drive would be self-locking fand thus remove thenecessity for a brake, but an easily operated worm drive was found to beunsatisfac tory because it produced a speed ratio between the wheel anddrum of the order of 10-1, which was impractical as the drum turned tooslowly when the hand wheel was turned.

Another diiiiculty encountered was that the size f of the stand andhousing for the drum were required to be kept at standard size and couldnot be increased to take care of an additional drive mechanism, norcould the size or Vcapacity of the drum'be reduced for that purpose.

Itis an obj-ect of the present invention to provide a novel and improveddrive mechanism for facilitating turning the drum of a rotary cardindex, especially when in unbalanced condition.

Another object is to provide an improved drive mechanism which isself-locking when the Wheel isstopped either in balanced or unbalancedcondition, thereby eliminating the need for a brake or additionallocking means.

A further object is to provide an improved mechanism which produces anamount of speed reduction .between the hand wheel and drum such as .toenable turning the drum easily but not too slowly for practicalpurposes.

Another object is to provide an improved driving mechanism which iswholly supported on the drum shaft and drum shaft support.

Another object is to provide an improved drive mechanism whichoperatively connects the hand wheel and drum within the drum housing,without increasing the size of the housing or decreasing the size of thedrum.

A further object is to provide an improved drive mechanism which enablesa reduction in the size of thehand Wheel.

-A vstill further ,object is to provide a novel and improved drivemechanism which is easily applied to rotary card indexes of standardconstruction, and which is adapted for use with a manual or power drivenrotary card index.

These and other objects are accomplished by the parts, constructions,arrangements and combinations which comprise the present invention, thenature of which is set forth in the following general statement, and apreferred embodiment of which is set forth in the following descriptionand illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and which is particularlyand distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claimsk formingpart hereof.

In general terms, the drive mechanism comprising the present inventionincludes a worm wheel mounted on one 'end of the drum shaft which isrotatably supported on a stand within the card index housing, said wormwheel meshing with a worm on a shaft journaled in said stand, and anoverdrive including a pinion on the worm shaft and a gear meshing withthefpinion and journaled inthe stand, the hand wheel being secured onthe shaft of said gear.

Referring to the drawings forming part hereof in which a preferredembodiment is shown by way of example:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rotary card index embodying thepresent invention, the rotating hood for the drum being lowered intelescoped position within the housing, and parts of the housing andhood being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged plan sectional view as on line 2-2,Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is la transverse sectional View of the rotary card index shown inFig. l, on a slightly enlarged scale, the hoodbeing shown in raisedposition;

Fig. 4 is an `enlarged fragmentary sectional view as on line 4 4, Fig.3;

Fig. 5 is afragmentary plan elevational view thereof; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional View as .on line .l-6, Fig. .4.

' Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several viewsof the drawings.

The rotary drum indicatedgenerally at.6 in- Fig. 2, and in dot-dashoutline in Fig. 3, is preferably similar to the drum shown in the patentto K. H. Miller No. 2,389,923, dated November 27, 1945. The drum 5 has aperipheral wall 1 on which rail segments 8 are detachably'mounted, and afollower member indicated generally at 9 is slidably mounted on eachdetachable rail segment for adjustably supporting a group orblock ofcards Il) detachablymounted on each rail segment.

The drum 6 is mounted in a usual fashion on a horizontal shaft Il, andthe reduced ends l2-of cured to a base I8 by screws I9, and the Ibase I8is rollably supported on the floor in a usual manner by means of rollers28 and 2 I.

The housing for the drum may consist of side plates 22, which aresecured as by welding to a pair of vertical side bars 23 mounted on thebase by means of angle brackets 24, and U-shaped end plates 25 lsecuredat their ends to the side plates 22 and supported on thehbase by anglebrackets 2 5. Preferably, the upper edges of the side plates 22 and endplates 25 have inturned rims as indicated at 21 in Fig. 3. As shown, thetop portion I4 of plate I4 is oiset inwardly of the housing to provideadditional space between the housing and drum for mounting the noveldriving mechanism which rotates the drum.

A sheet metal hood indicated at 28 is rotatably telescoped within thehousing, as shown in Fig. 1, for being rotated to cover the drum 6 andthe hand wheel 29 when the hood is in raised position as indicated inFig. 3. The side plates 38 of the hood are vprefer-ably secured as bywelding to substantially triangular rub plates 3I, and the rub platesare secured as by screws 32 to counterweight plates 33 which arejournaled at 34 on the vertical side bars 23. The counterweight plates33 are designed to aid in raising the hood to the closed position inFig. 3. As shown in Fig. 1 the plates I4 and I5 are oset longitudinallyof the housing torcompensate for the oiset load of the .counterweightplates 33.

The rotary card index thus far described is of more or less conventionalconstruction and per se forms no part of the present invention.

As lshown in Fig. 3, the end of the drum shaft I I which is journaled inthe support plate I4 has a reduced portion 35 projecting outwardlybeyond the plate I4, and a worm gear or wheel 36 is secured on saidreduced portion. The worm gear 36 meshes with a worm 31, whichpreferably is a double pitch four-thread worm, and the worm 31 issecured by a key 31 on a shaft 38 which extends transversely of the drumshaft I I. The ends of the worm shaft 38 are journaled preferably bymeans of needle bearings 39 in mounting bars 40 which are carried ontriangular bracket plates y4I welded to the top of support plate I4.Preferably, the bars 4D are connected together by means of transverseweb plates 42 and 43 which are welded at their ends to the bars.

One end of the worm gear projects beyond one of the bars 40 and has abevel pinion 44 secured thereon by means of a tapered pin 45, and theother end is provided with anti-friction thrust bearings 46 on each sideof the bar 48, the outer bearing 46 being held on the shaft by means ofa thrust collar 41 and stud screw 48, and the inner bearing 46 beingheld in place by abutment with a thrust bushing 49 abutting the worm 31at its other end.

The bevel pinion 44 meshes with a bevel gear 50 which is mounted on astub shaft 5I by means of a bushing 52. The inner end of the shaft I hasa retaining flange 53 thereon which engages the we'b plate 43 and theouter end of the shaft 5I has a thrust washer 54 secured thereto by astud 55. Preferably, the inner end of stub shaft 5I is journaled in ananti-friction bearing 56 mounted in the web plate 43, and theintermediate portion of the shaft 5I is j ournaled in an antid frictionbearing 51 which is mounted in a circular boss 58 projecting outwardly`from the web plate 43. I

The hand wheel 29 for manually rotating the drum is provided with spokes59 which are threaded into the hub 60 of the beveled gear 50, as shownin Fig. 3, so that the hub 60 acts as the hub of the hand wheel.Preferably, the tubular ring 29 of the hand wheel is made of a plasticmaterial. Y

Thus, the hand wheel 29 and all of the driving mechanism between thehand wheel and the worm wheel 36 are mounted directly on the sup- Dortplate I4 which carries one end of the drum shaft II. Moreover, byoffsetting the support plate I4 inwardly of the drum shaft, the drivingmechanism is mounted between the hand wheel and drum shaft, withoutincreasing the width of the housing for standard size rotary cardindexes, and without necessitating any decrease in the width or capacityof the drum 6 rotatably mounted within the housing.

In the operation of the rotary card index embodying the novel drivemechanism, when the hood 28 is revolved to open position, the drumisturned by manually turning the hand wheel 29, and when the wheel isstopped, the driving connection between the worm 31 and worm wheel 36 isself-locking so as to hold the drum in position, even though one or moreblocks of cards are removed so as to unbalance the drum. The worm 31 andworm gear 36 are designed to produce a speed ratio of about 10 to 1 inorder to provide for easy rotation of the drum by rotating the handwheel.

However, with such a ratio, the speed of the drum is so slow as to beimpractical, because ten revolutions of the hand wheel are required toproduce one revolution of the drum. By providing the bevel gearoverdrive consisting of the bevel gear 50 and bevel pinion 44 with aratio of about 4 to 1, the net speed ratio between the hand wheel andthe drum is only about 2%; to 1, which is very satisfactory for allpractical purposes in the operation of the rotary card index.

Moreover, by combining the bevel gear overdrive with the worm drive, therotation of the drum is made suiiciently easy so that the size of thehand wheel 29 can be substantially reduced and requires less Verticalspace within the housing of the rotary card index, so as not to extendabove the cards I0 carried on the drum 6, even though the axis of thehand wheel 29 is offset upwardly from shaft I I.

'The no vel and improved drive mechanism is simple and inexpensive, andeasily applied to rotary card indexes of standard size and construction.Furthermore, the novel drive mechanism is easily adapted to a motordrive instead of a manual drive by operatively connecting the motordirectly to the bevel gear 50. The novel drive enables easily turningthe drum either balanced or unbalanced condition, and providesself-locking means for locking the drum at any position, withoutrequiring additional brake means.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because suchwords are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to bebroadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiment of the improved construction illustrated anddescribed herein is by way of example, and the scope of the presentinvention is not limited to the exact details of construction.

Having now described the invention, the construction, the operation anduse of a preferred embodiment thereof, and the advantageous new anduseful results obtained thereby; the new and useful constructions, andreasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled inthe art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a rotary card index including a housing, a stand within thehousing, a rotatable drum having a shaft journaled in the stand; saidstand including a support member at one side of the drum and offsetinwardly of the drum shaft for engaging the shaft at a point spacedinwardly from one lateral edge of the drum, driving mechanism forrotating the drum including a worm gear on the projecting end of saidshaft, a worm shaft journaled on said offset support member transverselyof said drum shaft and inwardly of the lateral edge of the drum, a wormon said worm shaft meshing with said worm gear, a bevel pinion on saidworm shaft, a bevel gear journaled on said offset support member andmeshing with said pinion, and means for driving said bevel gear.

2. In a rotary card index including a housing, a stand within thehousing, a rotatable drum having a shaft journaled in the stand; saidstand including a support member at one side of the drum and offsetinwardly of the drum shaft for engaging the shaft at a point spacedinwardly from one lateral edge of the drum, driving mechanism forrotating the drum including a worm gear on the projecting end of saidshaft, a worm shaft journaled on said offset support member transverselyof said drum shaft and inwardly of the lateral edge of the drum, a wormon said worm shaft meshing with said worm gear, a bevel pinion on saidWorm shaft, a bevel gear journaled on said offset support member on anaxis offset laterally of said drum shaft and meshing with said pinion,and a hand wheel mounted coaxially on said bevel gear and located withinthe housing alongside the drum.

3. In a rotary card index including a housing, a stand within thehousing, a rotatable drum having a shaft journaled in the stand; saidstand including a support member at one side' of the drum and offsetinwardly of the drum shaft for engaging the shaft at a point spacedinwardly from one lateral edge of the drum, driving mechanism forrotating the drum including a worm gear on the projecting end of saidshaft, a pair of mounting bars secured on said offset support member andspaced laterally of said drum shaft and inwardly of the lateral edge ofthe drum, a worm shaft journaled in said mounting bars transversely ofsaid drum shaft, a worm on said worm shaft meshing with said worm gear,a bevel pinion on said worm shaft, a web plate connecting said mountingbars, a bevel gear journaled on said web plate and meshing with saidpinion, and means for driving said bevel gear.

4. In a rotary card index including a housing, a stand within thehousing, a rotatable drum having a shaft journaled in the stand; saidstand including a support member at one side of the drum and offsetinwardly of the drum shaft for engaging the shaft at a point spacedinwardly from one lateral edge of the drum; d ljiving mechanism forrotating the drum including a worm gear on the projecting end of saidshaft, a pair of mounting bars secured on said offset support member andspaced laterally of said drum shaft and inwardly of the lateral edge ofthe drum, a worm shaft journaled in said mounting bars transversely ofsaid drum shaft, a worm on said worm shaft meshing with said Worm gear,a bevel pinion on said Worm shaft, a web plate connecting said mountingbars, a bevel gear journaled on said web plate on an axis offsetlaterally of said drum shaft and meshing with said pinion, and a handwheel mounted coaxially on said bevel gear and located within thehousing alongside the drum.

5. In a rotary card index including a housing, a stand within thehousing, a rotatable drum having a shaft journaled in the stand; saidstand including a sup-port member at one side of the drum and offsetinwardly of the drum shaft for engaging the shaft at a point spacedinwardly from one lateral edge of the dr-um, driving mechanism forrotating the drum including a worm gear on the projecting end of saidshaft, a pair of laterally spaced mounting bars secured on said offsetsupport member inwardly of the lateral edge of the drum and projectingoutwardly therefrom, a worm shaft journaled in said mounting bars andextending transversely above said worm gear, a worm on said worm shaftmeshing with said worm gear, a bevel pinion on said worm shaft, atransverse web plate connecting the projecting ends of said mountingbars, a bevel gear journaled on said web plate between said mountingbars and meshing with said pinion, and means for driving said bevelgear.

6. In a rotary card index including a housing, a stand `Within thehousing, a rotatable drum having a shaft journaled in the stand; saidstand including a support member at one side of the drum and Aoffsetinwardly of the drum shaft for engaging the shaft at a point spacedinwardly from one lateral edge of the drum, driving mechanism forrotating the drum including a worm gear on the projecting end of saidshaft, a pair of laterally spaced mounting bars secured on said offsetsupport member inwardly of the lateral edge of the drum and projectingoutwardly therefrom, a worm shaft journaled in said mounting bars andextending transversely `above said worm gear, a wor-m on said worm shaftmeshing with said worm gear, a bevel pinion on said worm shaft, atransverse web plate connecting the projecting ends of said mountingbars, a bevel gear journaled on said web plate between said mountingbars on an axis offset laterally of said drum shaft and meshing withsaid pinion, and a hand wheel mounted coaxially on said bevel gear andlocated within the housing alongside the drum.

HERBERT C. BE'HRENS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,080,503 Ulrich Dec. 2, 1913 1,220,677 Pattimore Mar. 27,1917 1,717,705 Hanney June 18, 1929 1,920,663 Palmer Aug. 1, 19332,235,736 Bruen Mar. 18, 1941 2,441,717 Nero May 18, 1948 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 373,586 Great Britain Nov. 20, 1930

